Tag: Diego Sanchez

While listening to the latest episode of the CME Podcast earlier today, I was somewhat surprised to learn that Patrick Cummins vs. Roger Narvaez will be the only bout on this weekend’s Fight Night 42: Henderson vs. Khabilov card *not* featured on Fox Sports 1. Cummins, who was previously heralded as “a beast” and “no joke” prior to getting smashed by Daniel Cormier at UFC 170, has fallen from co-main event-worthy to Fight Passable in just one UFC appearance. (At least they were able to find him an opponent, I guess.)

Cummins’ placement on the card is a kick in the balls to say the least, but likely not the biggest dick move a former Starbucks barista has ever been subjected to in his life. Regardless, the recent crash of “Durkin” stock is one of several interesting facts about Fight Night 42 that you probably won’t find in one of MMAJunkie’s insipid “Pre-Fight Facts” articles. Oh yes, shots have been fired.

That being the case, we decided to basically lift their idea and make it our own, bringing you lesser-known, funnier, and borderline inaccurate facts about Fight Night 42 and its competitors. What? If it’s good enough for Burger King, it’s good enough for CagePotato. Now let’s get started.

Stat #1: Fight Night 42 Marks the UFC’s First Trip to New Mexico

In keeping with its “As Real as it Gets” moniker, the UFC has finally decided to put on a night of fights in a state where the police officers are often more crooked than the criminals. Fight Night 42 marks the first time Zuffa has graced the “Land of Enchantment” since WEC 32 was held in Rio Rancho back in 2008, and the first time the UFC has ever held an event in the state best known as the setting of Breaking Bad. There will be no survivors.

(Stay tuned for our Fight Flicks review of the movie, coming later this week.)

Today marks the home video release of In the Blood — that GIF-tacular action movie starring Gina Carano — which is now available on Blu-ray, DVD, and Digital HD. Our dear friends at Anchor Bay Films have hooked us up with a Combo Pack that contains the flick in all three formats, and we figured we’d put it up for grabs in another UFC fight-picking contest. You want it? Well listen up.

This Saturday, UFC Fight Night 42: Henderson vs. Khabilov goes down at the Tingley Coliseum in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Check out the fight card here, and submit a prediction for any fight on the lineup in the comments section below. The most accurate guess will win the In the Blood combo pack. Your picks should be in this format…

(“The Dream” is not impressed by your moshing skills. Check out this bromoshop and more here.)

Less than a day after I hinted at the possibility of 2014 becoming the true year of the injury curse, Georges St. Pierre tore his ACL while training for absolutely nothing. Proof of the curse, or of my prophetic abilities as a blogger? I can’t say for certain, but I do know that the job of an orthopaedic surgeon specializing in sports medicine is becoming more lucrative by the day thanks to UFC stars like Johny Hendricks, Chris Weidman, and Carlos Condit, making my decision to drop out of fancy doctor school and follow my passion of writing fart jokes for a living seem…hasty.

Thankfully, those two-bit body mechanics (technical jargon) won’t be able to get their greasy hands on Diego Sanchez, whom most assumed would be going under the knife after he was (self) poisoned by a raw quail egg and beef tartare at UFC 171. Quite the contrary, however, as Sanchez has not only managed to avoid surgery, but has already booked his next fight against TUF 9 winner Ross Pearson at a Fight Night event in his native Albuquerque on June 7th. A true “mind over matter” story if I’ve ever seen one before.

Sanchez finds himself in a unique position with the UFC, having dropped three out of his past four fights for the first time in his career. His excitement-over-strategy style has been entertaining as of late, sure, but “The Dream” better approach this fight with a more intelligent gameplan than lowering his hands and asking bros to come at him if he wants to score that win he so desperately needs.

And although Sanchez did drop a one-sided unanimous decision to Jury last Saturday, it was his in-ring candor that once again captured our hearts and imagination. For the majority of the contest, Sanchez’s offensive output consisted of wild haymakers and Diaz-esque “Come at me, bro” poses like the one snapped above, and whenever there’s an MMA moment in need of mockery, the UG usually steps in to save the day.

A thread entitled “Romo this Diego Sanchez” recently popped up on the popular mixed martial arts forum, asking fans to work their magic with the above photo of Sanchez in action. The results have been brilliant to say the least, so join us after the jump for a gallery of the 10 best entries so far.

You read the headline right. Diego Sanchez took to twitter earlier today to explain why he lost to Miles Jury at UFC 171. It wasn’t due to age, strategy, or simply fighting from a previous era. No, the culprit was steak tartare with a side of raw quail egg:

Anyway, that doesn’t mean UFC 171 won’t be fun to watch, because honestly, this is a talent-rich card with some very competitive match-ups. In the main event, Johny Hendricks and (incredibly) Robbie Lawler will fight for the UFC’s vacant welterweight title, while a quartet of other 170-pounders (Condit, Woodley, Shields, Lombard) jockey for their place in the divisional pecking order. Plus: The always-entertaining Diego Sanchez will shed some more brain cells in a scrap with the undefeated Myles Jury.

Live UFC 171 results will be available after the jump beginning at 10 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. PT. Refresh the page every few minutes for all the latest, and keep an eye on our Twitter and Facebook pages for extra analysis and updates. And as always, thanks for being here.

Live from the South Side Ballroom at Gilley’s Dallas in Texas, all 26 fighters competing on tomorrow’s UFC 171: Hendricks vs. Lawler card are hitting the scales today starting at 5 p.m. EST. Will Diego Sanchez cartwheel his way to the stage? Will Johny Hendricks and Robbie Lawler have a good old fashioned dip spit-off? Only one way to find out, Nation.

Update: Well that was nerve-wracking. Check out the full results after the jump, including three fighters who missed weight on their first attempts.

Note:Reed’s book ‘Fightnomics’ is available now on Amazon (in Kindle and paperback versions), featuring 336 pages of statistical analysis on UFC fighters and the “hidden science” behind their fights. If you’ve been a fan of his Databomb columns on CagePotato, pick up a copy today.

With UFC 171: Hendricks vs. Lawler coming up this Saturday, I decided to put together another batch of interesting facts and stats about the event, all of which fit inside Twitter’s 140-character limit. Feel free to tweet ‘em out yourself during the event, and let us know which ones surprised you the most. (And of course, follow @cagepotatomma and @fightnomics if you’re not doing so already.) Let’s begin…

(One day, you’re putting on one of the greatest fights in UFC History. The next, you’re fighting Ben Askren at a catchweight in One FC. *cries into whiskey glass* Photo via Getty.)

You guys remember Gilbert Melendez, right? You know, the Gilbert Melendez who was the final Strikeforce lightweight champion and one half of an amazing trilogy of fights with Josh Thomson? The Gilbert Melendez who came over to the UFC and beat then lightweight champ Ben Henderson but lost anyway because Ben Henderson? The Gilbert Melendez who put on a Fight of the Century performance against Diego Sanchez at UFC 166? Thought so.

Well hold onto those memories, Nation, because it looks like we should already start asking what could’ve been in regards to Melendez’s UFC career, young as it was. On last night’s edition of UFC Tonight, it was reported that, after months of attempting to negotiate a new contract with the promotion, Melendez’s management and Dana White have all but reached a stalemate. Said White:

I’m done. It’s not going well and I couldn’t care less at this point. I like Gilbert Melendez very much. I just don’t like his management. If Gilbert Melendez wants to fight in the UFC he better call Lorenzo Fertitta quickly, but he should also probably start looking elsewhere.

Two thoughts:

-At least DW managed to avoid calling anyone a “f*cking scumbag” or something of the like.